This invention relates in general to wheelchairs. In particular, this invention relates to a cable actuator for a wheelchair.
Wheelchairs are a class of personal mobility vehicle that provides greater ambulatory freedom to persons having limited movement abilities. A frame supports a seating assembly having a seat bottom and a backrest. The frame also supports a plurality of wheels that may be power driven or manually operated. Wheelchairs, and in particular manually operated wheelchairs, may be provided with some form of braking system to fix at least one wheel relative to the frame. These braking systems typically rely on an over-center actuation mechanism that frictionally engages a tire when applied. Such braking systems for wheelchairs are typically applied as parking brakes having only applied and released positions. Actuators for these braking systems are often located in close proximity to the tire and, consequently, may be difficult to access by both a user and an attendant.
It would be desirable to provide a wheelchair braking system that is easy to access by both a user and an attendant.